Teconnex invests in the future of UK manufacturing
As a world leader in engineered jointing solutions, Teconnex is at the forefront of investing in technology through clamps and our Product Diversification Programme.
From bellows and aerospace to tooling and automation, our continuous improvement has seen us diversify our production to meet the requirements of many global industry sectors across four continents.
Our investment in the future does not end with technology, as we continue our aim of providing a platform for young people to develop.
Youth unemployment is a persistent problem in the UK. There are clear areas of skills gaps, particularly in the manufacturing industry, which has a future implication for growth and productivity.
At Teconnex, we have taken action to address this by investing in our talent strategy. We reviewed the available opportunities for those who were looking for an alternative to university study.
This resulted in our apprenticeship programme, enabling us to develop the skills of our own Engineers of the future. We offer hands-on experience and day release to combine real workplace development and academic qualifications up to degree level.
Over the past years, we have invested considerably in this area as we work continuously to improve our programmes and ensure we have the levels of experienced Engineers we need across our business.
We have also set up a support network to make sure that the apprentices have a continual review and support system. This gives them the opportunities needed to thrive and allows them to use in practice their experience and knowledge in their daily jobs.
As well as looking to invest in young talent, improving gender diversity within our workforce and our industry remains very high on our agenda.
Our commitment to having a fair representation of women across all levels of our organisation has never been stronger as we actively seek to recruit, promote and progress female staff.
Meet our apprentices
Alisha Bell is a typical example of one of our apprentice stars.
She has worked at Teconnex for over two years within the design engineering department.
Since joining Teconnex in August 2018 as the UK OCS (Order Control Sheet) Engineer and Technical Design apprentice, Alisha’s role has dramatically changed.
She is now the global OCS Engineer supporting the UK, Mexico, Romania and India. Alisha’s role has also developed to include document control and design change management. Her responsibilities mean Alisha is involved with all areas of Design and Production engineering, helping to develop her understanding of products in application and manufacturing techniques.
She is in the final year of her three-year apprenticeship and attends Keighley College once a week on day release. She is currently studying EAL Level 3 NVQ Extended Diploma in Engineering Technical Support (QCF) and BTEC Level 3 Diploma in Advanced Manufacturing Engineering (Development Technical Knowledge.)
Meet our apprentices
Nathan Parker began working for Teconnex in July 2015 as a Production Engineering apprentice.
Over his first year with us, he spent time under supervision within the turning, milling and grinding sections, where he learned how to machine and assemble various components. Following this experience, Nathan began working on projects as a Production Engineer.
Nathans advanced apprenticeship program has been specifically developed with a bias towards production engineering, which includes key areas such as quality assurance, manufacturing problems, drawings and documentation.
In September 2015, he began his HNC (higher national certificate) in Mechanical Engineering, which was a two-year course on a day release to Bradford College. On completion, he continued and furthered his qualification and achieved his HND (higher national diploma).
He has since continued and achieved a Mechanical Engineering degree, which he passed with First Class Honours.
Nathan continues to progress with Teconnex and now works within our design department, learning about the manufacture of components from concept through to the manufacturing stage.